When I was in the 6th or 7th grade I read a book about a young woman and her boyfriend who were swimming or diving in a lake. I know caves come into play as well.
While the pair were diving or swimming a boat ran between the two, untimely running over the girl. She had tried to dive but was hit by the boat propeller. The boyfriend had to dive under to get her and I remember it being slightly graphic in terms of describing her injury- Organs gone, scalp/hair, and I think an arm injury?
As he grabs her he realizes he can’t take her to faraway but there are cave systems either under the lake or around the lake and he takes her to one. In which he finds one with a glowing pool of water. He places her in the pool, crying over her death and she/he both realize her wounds are healing and she feels better than she ever has. He’s ecstatic! She crawls out of the pool as healthy as can be, but within a few minutes her seemingly healed wounds start to open, and she has to go back into the pool of water to heal once more.
Now I get more fuzzy around this part in which i think he memorizes where the cave is at and brings her food/drinks for a few days/weeks & continues their relationship. He doesn’t tell anyone what happened to her because he knows if they take her from the pool she dies, so he doesn’t tell anyone. I think a cop or someone finds him diving with food one day and when he realizes theres a risk he then proceeds to cause a partial cave in trapping her forever in the cave.
For the life of me I cannot find this book again. I’ve tried searching for a while but keep getting true survival stories. I know I had to have read this book like 10 some years ago around 7th grade but I cannot find anything similar.
It might have been a short story, which I believe it may have been as I don’t remember reading more than a handful of chapters. I cannot describe the book cover or any part of a title. Just the main content.
If anyone has any clues or possible leads that would be fantastic! I want to know how much I remember is correct and how much I may have made up!
by Sweet_Bag2240